Airbus grounds 6,000 planes, global flights at risk. New component for pope's plane
Immediate call for a software update: intense solar radiation could compromise safety
It is shaping up to be a difficult day for air transport as the holiday travel season gets into full swing. Surprisingly Airbus announced the recall of some 6,000 A320s for immediate corrective action. There are disruptions at several airports, but currently not at Italian airports.
The affair
At the root of the problem - which led to the maxi recall - is the aerospace group's fear that intense solar radiation on some aircraft could compromise the integrity of the data used by the flight control system. The manufacturer has communicated the need to update the 'Elevator Aileron Computers' (Elac), systems that control elements such as the stabiliser and ailerons and intervene in the event of non-standard flight parameters.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), in an emergency directive, mandated that the ELAC correction must be completed before the next flight of the aircraft, effectively grounding the affected aircraft. The main intervention consists of restoring a previous software version, a technically simple but indispensable correction procedure before aircraft can resume service, except for transfer to authorised maintenance centres.
L’impatto
Due to the rapidity of the planned interventions, many aircraft can be restored between flights or during night control procedures. In Europe, Air France announced the cancellation of 35 flights yesterday and will provide details in the coming hours on the exact number of flights that will be affected today. American Airlines, the largest operator of the A320 family globally, expects to complete work on the majority of its fleet by the end of today, while other carriers, including Lufthansa, IndiGo and easyJet, have announced plans to temporarily withdraw aircraft from service in order to carry out repairs. Avianca said the recall affected more than 70 per cent of its fleet, prompting it to suspend ticket sales until 8 December. easyJet, on the other hand, said it had already completed operations.
Coming components for Leo XIV's plane
The plane taking the Pope on the trip between Turkey and Lebanon is also an Airbus A320 and 'a component of the plane and the technician who will replace it are flying to Istanbul'. This was reported by the Vatican press office. The component to be changed, on the Airbus on which the Pope is travelling on the international trip to Turkey and Lebanon, is a monitor; it is on its way from Rome to replace the one that needs to be removed.
